4 replies to this topic

[china]

Is there anyone in the uk taking this tablet also called zanaflex,

my partner was on these tablets years ago but was taken off them as they said that they caused liver damage.

he was also taking baclofen and dantroline at the time.

If there is anyone what other tablets do you take ?


thanks maria

[Trinity]

zanaflex and oxybutynin are not the same drug

zanaflex =Tizanidine for spasms

Oxybutynin = for bladder

different drugs for different things

[Apparelyzed]

Hi,

Watch out for dantroline (Dantrium), as it's well known for causing liver damage.

In the unit I was on in 1992, it was procedure to have blood tests taken when you were first prescribed it, to check your liver function, especially if on higher doses.

Simon

[china]

Cheers, he must have got mixed up.

he's been taking dantroline for around twenty years now.

doctor has never said anything about liver damage or regular blood tests.

thanks,

maria

[Apparelyzed]

Just to expand on my above post, I found the following"


"It is important to recognize that fatal and non-fatal liver disorders of an idiosyncratic or hypersensitivity type may occur with Dantrium therapy.

At the start of Dantrium therapy, it is desirable to do liver function studies (SGOT, SGPT, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin) for a baseline or to establish whether there is pre-existing liver disease. If baseline liver abnormalities exist and are confirmed, there is a clear possibility that the potential for Dantrium hepatotoxicity could be enhanced, although such a possibility has not yet been established.

Liver function studies (e.g., SGOT or SGPT) should be performed at appropriate intervals during Dantrium therapy. If such studies reveal abnormal values, therapy should generally be discontinued. Only where benefits of the drug have been of major importance to the patient, should reinitiation or continuation of therapy be considered. Some patients have revealed a return to normal laboratory values in the face of continued therapy while others have not.

If symptoms compatible with hepatitis, accompanied by abnormalities in liver function tests or jaundice appear, Dantrium should be discontinued. If caused by Dantrium and detected early, the abnormalities in liver function characteristically have reverted to normal when the drug was discontinued. Dantrium therapy has been reinstituted in a few patients who have developed clinical and/or laboratory evidence of hepatocellular injury. If such reinstitution of therapy is done, it should be attempted only in patients who clearly need Dantrium and only after previous symptoms and laboratory abnormalities have cleared. The patient should be hospitalized and the drug should be restarted in very small and gradually increasing doses. Laboratory monitoring should be frequent and the drug should be withdrawn immediately if there is any indication of recurrent liver involvement. Some patients have reacted with unmistakable signs of liver abnormality upon administration of a challenge dose, while others have not.

Dantrium should be used with particular caution in females and in patients over 35 years of age in view of apparent greater likelihood of drug-induced, potentially fatal, hepatocellular disease in these groups."

Source: http://www.drugs.com/pro/dantrium.html

Regards

Simon